


From Madness to Death

by missrosethorn



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Attempted Rape, Blood, F/M, Human Experimentation, M/M, Violence, forced sex change, look forward to a battle between chaos and chaos?, random naked Reno, rotting clones, soldier breeding program, unfinished surgery, unnatural twisting of the body
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2018-05-10 15:27:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 14
Words: 16,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5591467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missrosethorn/pseuds/missrosethorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Deepground, Reeve sends a small group to investigate one of Hojo's more secret labs in sector 5. Upon arriving,  they discover the extent of Hojo's obsession with Sephiroth. What they find shakes them to the core, but what they leave with could destroy them all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There is one OC in this story, though it is necessary for the story as a whole. I will try to keep the mary-sue character type out of the story as much as possible. This story is very dark, it will have some lighter scenes but I am warning you, I don't censor my writing. I do apologise if any of this offends any of you but you did chose to read. And please, if you see any mistakes, let me know. This is my first story in years, I am rusty so forgive me and help me improve myself. Thank you ,now enjoy!

Everyone knew the Professor was insane, crazed by years of raw Mako exposure and injecting himself with Jenova cells. They knew he was so obsessed with creating the perfect being that he subjected his own wife and her son to horrific experiments. The result being Sephiroth, the perfect soldier. Well, maybe if he had not suffered that fateful mental breakdown in Nibelheim. It wasn’t until the Deepground incident was over and the WRO had enlisted the planet’s saviors and the remaining Turks, ordered by Rufus, to clean up Hojo’s remaining labs.  
Reeve had sent a few WRO soldiers, Reno, Tseng, Cloud, and Vincent to clear out Hojo’s labs in Sector 5. The city had been cleared enough to no longer worry about beasts and straggling Deepground Soldiers. The Sector 5 lab was one of Hojo’s “secret” labs; few had known of its’ location and even fewer had known its’ purpose. As the WRO soldiers led their charges through the lab, all seemed normal, well by Hojo’s standards at least. Mako tubes full of living and dead frankenstein-ish creatures: beasts, men, and a combination of both floated in the thick, green goo.  
Searching filing cabinets, computers, and bookshelves until a clumsy hand slipped down onto a button. The shriek of a mousy, female WRO soldier alerted her companions to the bookcase ascending into the ceiling. Cloud, followed by Vincent, peered into the darkness, Mako eyes taking in the dark shapes human eyes were unable to pick up. Cloud flicked his fingers in a come-hither motion over his shoulder as he gingerly stepped inside the dark room, his demonic companion close at his heels, gun drawn and tense. They were followed by the Turks, then the WRO; one of which, throws the light switches, revealing the horrors within.  
With the light, Hojo’s obsession was brought to light. Sephiroth was everywhere, in every Mako tank and rotting on every table. Children, teens, and adults of both genders had been altered to become Sephiroth, or they were his clones as Cloud had suggested in a hushed whisper. Misshapen and mutilated, dead and alive, incomplete. Hojo had tried to recreate his precious experiment with as many human subjects as he could get his hands on in those five years after Sephiroth’s initial death. Scattered notes explained his goal of bringing Sephiroth back, Jenova whispering that she could revive him with the most compatible body Hojo could produce. It seemed that this goal was impossible as when he was about finished the perfect body, Sephiroth had “resurrected” himself via Jenova.  
As for the lab and the almost complete second Sephiroth, Hojo had abandoned them to rot as the power would eventually run out for the self-sufficient building. Those who had fought the Nightmare the first time tore through the notes, to find any mention of where the new Sephiroth may have been stored. Vincent was the first to find it, his skills with the elder equipment aiding him in his search. The person, the new Sephiroth, was only referred to as S19, of unknown origins, used only because of their perfect match to the Jenova Cells.  
As usual, Hojo had only left vague descriptions of the being’s location, only revealing it to be in a Mako cabinet to the back of the lab. This cabinet proved to be very similar to a morgue’s own corpse storage unit, numerous doors lining the wall, each unlabeled and occupied. Soon Vincent, Cloud, Reno, and Tseng were ripping the doors open and forcing capsuled bodies into light unknown to them for many a year. Most were dead and rotting, polluting the Mako in which they were kept. It was Reno who happened to find the experiment. A panicked “Oh SHIT!” and frizzled red hair from his sudden plunge to the ground where his ass kissed the unforgiving, white floor signaled that he had found it.  
The others rushed over, ignoring the cussing red head below them in favor of the man lying before them. Alive and as normal looking as the previous, a perfect copy of Sephiroth lay before them. Breaths retreated back to their owners’ bodies as the group looked him over. The long, silken hair; smooth, pale skin; height; build; all the way to the very bone structure: this man was Sephiroth. Along with the looks, this person was even dressed in some of Sephiroth’s clothes, exactly as Sephiroth had been in the Northern Crater when Cloud struck him down.  
Tseng was the first to awaken from this impossibility, he pulled out a small computer from the inside of his jacket, connecting it to a port in the Mako tank to download any and all information about the experiment to the small device. While Tseng gathered information, Cloud and Vincent debated whether to kill it or spare the poor creature’s life. Cloud may have pitied it, but he did not want to face another Sephiroth, again, pushed to kill it now. Vincent agreed that it may be wise to kill it, also argued that it may be able to be saved. He suggested that they should try to interact with it before deciding to kill it; although there was a clear ulterior motive to Vincent wanting it alive, no one wanted to address that elephant in the room.  
As the two argued and Tseng went over his newly acquired info, Reno noticed a slowly growing bulge on the underside of the tank. The tanks were essentially morgue drawers with Mako life support, and due to years of tainted Mako exposure from a busted over-head tank, the table could no longer support its’ own weight.  
A low groaning of metal was all they heard before the bottom busted, releasing a flood of Mako onto the floor and a retreating Reno; dropping the unconscious body of the new Sephiroth onto the floor in a tangle of limbs, hair, and catheters. The displaced Turk scrambled to his feet, covered in the green fluids of the tank, hastily wiping his flesh off with shaky hands. The WRO and the others had their weapons trained on the unmoving body for a solid five minutes before the surviving machinery of the tank began beeping. Shockwaves were sent down the monitors connected to S19’s chest as well as adrenaline, which pumped through newly revived heart muscles.  
The massive body twitched and spasmed violently for a few seconds as the whole room tensed in anticipation for S19 to awaken. For the green, cat-slit eyes to be revealed that haunted many nightmares for a variety of reasons. Instead, the body returned to a prone state as the screen on the tank flashed error over and over again. Something was preventing this Sephiroth’s revival, Cloud released a relieved sigh that he was unaware he was holding. The only one who seemed worried was Vincent, who held a pained look in his eye that only a parent could.  
Rushing to the pseudo-Sephiroth’s side, Vincent knelt and checked the man’s vitals. What he found was a weakening heartbeat and an absence of breath. Allowing the little bit of medical training he had take over, Vincent began something like CPR on the figure, reminding Cloud of the time he revived that little girl in Junon, who later claimed him to be her future husband. The WRO soldiers watched the scene play out in confusion,unsure of their roles in this play.  
A muffled gagging sound blurted from the two men’s conjoined lips as the blockage in S19’s lungs dislodged and became indecisive of which man to hinder. Too slow in its’ decision, it found itself split and spit into the floor by both men; Vincent, having hurriedly pushed his patient onto their side as they coughed and sputtered, politely turned his head and spit his glob out in the other direction. Cloud rushed to his long-time friend’s side, helping him to prop the unresponsive body of the now awake S19 against his friend’s shoulder, the metal claw gently securing the unfamiliar weight against its’ owner.  
“Do you know what you’ve done Vincent?” Cloud questioned in a harsh whisper. Vincent studied the labored breathing of S19 for a brief moment, checking to see if he could breath on his own before a quiet “Yes” slipped through his purplish lips. “I may not be his father, but I felt obligated to do right by him somehow. Whether that was saving him or killing him,” Vincent paused to meet the electric blue of Cloud’s eyes, “ but I cannot bear to see another innocent die for Hojo and Jenova’s madness.”  
Cloud kept the intense gaze for several moments, breaking the accidental staring contest to spare a glance at the body in Vincent’s arms. Though this mere glance turned to a gasp of shock from both Cloud and the Turks, the latter from the information running across the tiny screen in Tseng’s hands, and the former from meeting the eyes of the experiment S19. Those eyes that haunted the mountain boy all these years were gone, replaced by eyes so grey they almost looked colorless amidst all that white. These eyes, which seemed to be only for the dead, were very much alive.


	2. Fear and Obligation

“Cloud,” Tseng called, his voice strained, “come take a look at this.” Cloud rose slowly, tearing his eyes from S19, and made his way to the head Turk,his spot by Vincent taken by an WRO medic. Tseng looked pale and Reno was leaning head-first against a wall, his parlor green, skin clammy. “What’s wrong?” Even as Cloud asked, he knew the answer had to do with Hojo. Tseng turned the small device over to Cloud, hand trembling slightly as it retreated. The monitor showed a wordy report labeled JENOVA MOCK 2 -S19. Skimming through the first page or so, it was revealed to the young man that S19 was a creature much like Jenova, an alien on their planet that Hojo had found and planned to combine with Jenova via a breeding program with the then alive Sephiroth.  
When Sephiroth died, Hojo had went nuts, making clones only to later realize he had the perfect subject in storage. Tests had revealed its’ cells flexible enough to be able to be forcibly changed into exact replicas of Sephiroths. Continuing downward, Cloud came across pictures and brief descriptions of the experiments involved to turn it into a new Sephiroth, the perfect vessel for his resurrection. Every image was gruesome, innards of the humanoid creature on display. The first picture was, perhaps the most normal of them all, as it featured what appeared to be a giant female corpse lying naked on a metal gurney, a diamond shaped hole in its’ chest revealing a missing heart.  
The woman, who reminded him vaguely of his ex-Turk friend, was later shown having organs replaced, cosmetic surgeries, fall-into-the-lifestream-size Mako injections, skin grafts, bone-shortening surgeries to make the subject short enough to be Sephiroth’s size, and even the beginnings of a sex-change operation to complete the transformation. The more Cloud read, the sicker he became. He tore himself away from it and slammed the offending object closed. A few deep, steady breaths calmed him greatly. He had been under Hojo’s knife for the very same reason as S19, but he had escaped the fate of them and all of the other clones largely due to the interference of Zack; the debt he had to that man grew again at the realization that this could have been him.  
Cloud looked for his friend, torn between showing the file to the disturbed man or just gently explaining the situation, only to find that both Vincent and S19, along with the unnamed medic, were missing from the room. Cloud panicked for about a minute, head reeling with the idea of the Sephiroth look-a-like killing his friend in a back room. The blond swordsman marched to the other medic, a male of average build, who was trying to drag a Mako covered Reno out of the room to get cleaned up. When asked , the medic told him that the other medic had taken both missing persons to the shower room, a room used to wash the Mako off of newly risen experiments.  
As thanks for the medic’s help, he promptly dragged Reno’s now green glowing ass to the aforementioned room seeing as he was headed there anyway. The Turk grumbled and cursed the whole way, even more so when Cloud unceremoniously dropped him onto the floor of the shower room’s attached locker room. The red head may have continued his verbal abuse if shrieking from the shower room and a running swordsman hadn’t interrupted him. Cloud practically busted open the door, fearing the worst of the situation, and rounded the privacy walls with such speed that he almost slipped, sliding into a crouched stop, his hand heading for the hilt of the sword on his back.   
Instead of seeing his friend’s gorey remains splashed across the wet floor, he was met with a sight that would have been hilarious in another situation. Vincent was knelt to the point of almost laying on the tiled floor as S19 climbed on top of him, arms locked around the gunner’s neck for dear life as it tried to pull itself away from the steady stream of the showerhead above them.It appeared that this person had an extreme fear of water, perhaps from an experience from their life from before the labs or a fear, like many others, grown in the labs by Hojo’s hands.  
The large body, that could have overpowered Vincent in its’ prime, was nothing more than a struggling child in his arms. Both were soaked in the cleansing fluid of the spray, the disinfectant scent making both ex-lab rats cringing at the memories resurfacing from their own personal hells that were tainted with that very scent. The medic was only half as wet but would be sporting more bruises than anything in the morning. The woman was holding a syringe, trying to stick the attacking limbs, each try earning her a new bruise.  
Wordless shrieks left pale lips at every opportunity, staining damaged vocal cords as the cries continued.Cloud slowly stood up from his position, hand still twitching for the sword as he walked overto his soaked friend. “Need a hand with that?” A simple gesture clarifying what “that” was. A wordless nod was all the answer Cloud needed as he removed the sword from his back and began untangling the pseudo-Sephiroth from Vincent’s neck. The two managed to get the struggling body pinned long enough for the medic to do her job and sedate S19 into submission. All the while, Vincent whispered words of comfort until consciousness had left the experiment.  
Sitting back and taking a breather, the two friends were left by the medic, who went to nurse her wounds. Seeing as it was as best a time as any, Cloud decided to address his friend’s strange behavior. “Vincent, you know this isn’t him, right? Sephiroth is gone, this is not her son. Hell, it’s not even human!” Cloud’s voice raised as he went on, his partner remained unflinching as ever. “This is another creature, an alien like Jenova, that Hojo found and experimented on. We don’t know its’ purpose here, it could kill us at the first chance!” Cloud quieted at the realization of what he just said. He did not care for this creature but the possibility of history repeating itself over and over again. His very instinct was screaming to kill the creature sleeping in front of him, the very thing that one of his closest friends was trying so hard to protect.


	3. A Haunting Voice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little short, the next chapter will take awhile longer to post. Please enjoy!

Vincent sat in the silence, studying the face below him as he thought over Cloud’s words. “I know, I knew when that first faint scent hit me. I knew just by the smell what she is. I don’t know her purpose here but I want to give her a chance before anyone kills her. I want to give the same freedom you gave me when we first met.” The words, spoken quietly, rang clearly in their ears and Cloud felt a blush rise to his cheeks. It was rare for Vincent to speak so intimately with anyone that it was very flattering to hear it in any situation.  
“Come on, we need to get ‘em outta here before the meds wear off.” Cloud rose, replaced his sword, and helped lift the prone body from the floor, Vincent struggling a bit as he was trying to stand and lift as the same time. They got to the locker room, almost dropping their charge when a naked Reno skipped by them. Thee awkwardness of the situation made worse when the male medic called to them, breaking the confusion and releasing the embarrassment of the scene. “Why is he still in those clothes?” The medic’s stern tone reminding Cloud of Tifa when she got on him for stealing the children’s snacks. “Those clothes are too tainted with Mako, they need to be removed and gotten rid of.”  
The medic was holding a bundle of cloth, a change of clothes to replace those ruined by the long-term Mako exposure. The two men managed to lay the subject onto one of the longer benches in front of the lockers and collected the spare clothing from the medic before he went to check on Reno. The two stared at the bundle, unsure of how to proceed. Vincent observed his friend’s tense posture, paling skin, and the slight trembling in his hands. Cloud was nervous, he could tell the thought of having to intimately handle Sephiroth, even a look-alike, was enough to unsettle his rocky nerves.  
“Cloud, you can leave if you wish, I do not require assistance in this task.” Vincent’s words soothed Cloud’s mind, the boy needed to leave before his PTSD decided to surface and cause a panic. A few words of reassurance was all it took to shoo him from the room, the tense atmosphere of the room lifted with his departure. Vincent sighed and turned to his charge, steeling himself for what he might find. As masculine as this person looked, estrogen still outweighed testosterone, all he needed to do was sniff them to realize what Hojo had done, or rather what he had not finished. However the rest of the body may look, it was clear to vincent as he started to remove the tainted clothes that this Sephiroth was missing what most people considered to make a man a man.  
The damp leather proved to be troublesome to remove, it was tight, stuck to the skin beneath. As he inched it down S19’s hips, a bundle of scars was revealed, criss-crossing and covering what was left of the creature’s genitalia with scar tissue. A jagged line, large enough to have gutted a man, lay on the lower stomach, standing out against the Professor’s professional cuts below. It was not Hojo’s work, an accident or a killing blow but not the doctor’s. The scars below were sharp and defined by a purpose only half accomplished. The female genitalia had been mutilated beyond use, half formed into the beginnings of a male’s penis, only to have been interrupted and allowed to stay as is.  
The mess had been left to heal on its’ own, leaving a confusing trail of healed flesh in its’ wake, lost in how it was to form. Phantom pains of experiments inexperienced, Vincent imagined the amount of pain the unfinished surgery could have caused, leaving his gut knotted in pain. The rest of the lower body seemed to be perfect, sculpted to match those of the late General. The only flaws Vincent could find was a faint tale-tale sign of removed skin for a graft on the back of firm thighs as they were lifted to remove the rest of the pants.  
Grabbing a towel from a convenient rack, Vincent set to work gently drying off the wet skin of his charge before dressing them in a slightly too small tank top and loose sweatpants. Just as he finished dressing S19, Reno, in all his naked glory, came charging in with the flustered medic behind him. Reaching for the towels, Reno’s aquamarine eyes glanced briefly between the two before him. “Did I miss the show already?” Reno asked, referring to the dressing of the General’s double. Vincent dismissed the comment with a roll of his red eyes, only to become quite angry when Reno cockily added, “at least I didn’t miss the vampire strip show.”  
If the medic hadn’t stepped between the two, a fight surely would have broken out. Forcing the loopy Turk to dress, the medic addressed Vincent, “you may want to change as well before it starts affecting you too.” Vincent left S19 in the care of the medic as he went into the shower room to scrub both himself and his clothes free of Mako. It took several minutes to fully get the sticky goo from his clothes and body, and a minute with a fire materia to dry his clothing. When he returned to the locker room, hair still damp, he found the medic had left the room momentarily. Looking over S-19, he found it awake, studying him with the same intensity as any lab rat would, judging him. Threat or not? The question had passed through Vincent’s head at one point in time, as well as that gaze.   
“Hojo is dead.”  
The words left quietly, dancing gently over Vincent’s ears in a twisted fashion. With an androgynous voice, S19 stated a truth that should have been unknown to it in its’ time in the tank. “Not by your hands though.” Vincent watched her, flabbergasted by the vague wording of an event it was not conscious at the right time to have known about. Slowly,the silver head turned, facing the ceiling once again. It did not speak again.


	4. Mindreading

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry about the short chapter but my writing is a little slow right now, I have exams coming up in a day or so. I'll try to make the next one nice and long for y'all. Though I'm curious, how many people clicked on this just for the naked Reno tag?

They had to use a gurney to transport S19 out of the lab while the WRO stayed behind to collect more files and subjects, a new focus on S19 as they were told to find all of its’ files. Frantic calls to bosses and hospitals were made over the still experiment as no hospital wanted to take the Sephiroth look-alike in fear of the next slaughter starting in their buildings.Vincent approached Cloud outside the lab, pulling him into an empty corner to talk in private. The blond sent questioning looks to his sniper the way over, only to have him blurt out rather loudly in his face.  
“It-she knows about Hojo, how he died.”  
“...What?”  
“S19 has been locked in a lab for five years, no one has came in or out since right before meteor. S19 shouldn’t have known anything about that.”  
Cloud raised a slim brow at his friend, “mindreading?” The suggestion seemed ridiculous but Sephiroth had been able to access Cloud’s mind, why couldn’t his replacement do the same? Understanding his friend’s thought process, Vincent paused in thought. “Maybe you’re right,” Vincent murmured, “though I thought he could only do that because you were a clone. I’m not a clone Cloud.” The conversation stopped there as Tseng approached them, hanging up his small PHS as he walked.  
“We found a doctor that will treat our new friend but they refuse to house them.” Tseng announced before turning to address Cloud, his expression strained. “I’m sorry to ask this of you Cloud but, may we keep the experiment at the church for the time being?” A moment passed as Cloud processed the question, then a look of realization before an explosion of refusal flowed from his mouth. Claims of disrespecting the dead and other crimes were brought up his rage.  
“Cloud!” The sharp bite of his name snapped Cloud out of his rant, causing him to jump at the harshness present in Vincent’s normally calm monotone. “You're not thinking straight, Aerith wouldn't want this. You need to stop thinking about Sephiroth and start thinking about what's best for that woman. She's a victim, like you, like me, like Aerith. We need to help her; however, if it makes you feel better, I can stay at the church and keep an eye on her for the time being.”  
Cloud slowly considered the offer, much to Tseng’s annoyance, and gave in to his friend. “Alright, as long as it-she stays under your watch, it's fine. But let me know if anything goes wrong, we still don't know what she's capable of and we can't take any chances”  
Vincent nodded in acceptance, a smile drifting onto his face, softening his aquiline features. Tseng started barking orders at the WRO, instructing them of where to deliver S19 and to get back in touch with the doctor. It was a blur of movement after that, bodies surged through the area, creating a sort of parody of a club dance floor as the people moved around and against each other. Groups worked on files, physical and digital, gathering what they could about the Professor's work. Others cleared the labs, gathering the bodies and transporting them back to the WRO headquarters for further study and burial. This proved difficult at first as the bodies began falling apart, innards spilled and limbs snapped. Not a single uniform was clean, the light grey stained in reds, greens, and other colors that the wearers of refused to identify.


	5. The Temporary Doctor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to my cat of 13 years, Loco, who passed away in my arms this week. I've had him since I was a little girl and he was the first pet I've had to watch die. He died naturally, I held him until he passed so writing this week became hard for me. I haven't been able to stay in my room for long these few days, which almost made me not update because this was in my room. I eventually went in and got it so I could update, I'm sorry it took so long, please enjoy.

Tseng, too busy with the lab clean up, left Reno to oversee the transfer of S19, which really meant that Cloud and Vincent were to babysit the inhibited Turk. Cloud managed to secure an ambulance, storing the experiment inside for transportation. The others loaded themselves accordingly: Vincent and Reno climbing in the back, the latter drunkenly leaning onto the former, who sighed in frustration but let it slide. Cloud sat shotgun, giving directions to Aerith’s church to the driver. The ride was quiet, a few harsh jerks of the wheel when a turn was almost missed, but otherwise it was uneventful. The experiment, while awake, had a distant expression on their face, lost in some thought or memory. Though she seemed docile, Vincent knew better than to not keep an eye on her at all times. He may have vouched for her but he was far from trusting her at this point in time. He knew she was dangerous, possibly more so than the Nightmare she was modeled after. This was going to be a matter that would have to be carefully dealt with, even more so than when Cloud's group had picked up the unstable, freshly-awaken Vincent.  
The ride was a little over an hour in length, the driver backing up his vehicle in front of the church doors to make unloading their patient easier. Cloud stepped out, moving to assist his partner in opening the rear doors, only to be stopped by a older gentleman that he almost plowed through. The man, in about his late sixes, sized up the man before him with a sceptical eye.  
“Are you Mr. Valentine? “ the old man rasped out the question in such an accusing tone that Cloud felt like a child in grade school again. The old man was hunched over from years of work, leaving his shiny bald spot in plain view. He wore rounded glasses and slightly tattered clothes, a black bag clutched by his side. Besides his appearance reminding Cloud of his third grade teacher, Cloud was a little lost at the name mix up to the point where he almost said yes.  
“No sir, I'm Cloud Strife; Vincent - Mr.Valentine - is still in the ambulance. Are you the doctor Tseng called in?”  
“I see, yes. I'm the doctor Tseng called in, my name is Dr. Lawrence Clark. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr.Strife.”  
Dr. Clark turned on his manners with the introduction, sticking a hand out for a proper shake. Cloud accepted, grasping the gnarled, surprisingly firm hand in his own. The handshake stopped in the appropriate amount of time, a truly professional shake. Some unamused growling whispered out the back of the vehicle, reminding the blond that he was supposed to be helping Vincent unload. Hurriedly, Cloud led the doctor to the back of the ambulance, throwing open the rear doors.  
Inside, Vincent was tangled up with Reno, who had fallen in a dizzy state upon standing while the experiment had fallen back asleep. Cloud stepped in and pulled the Turks apart, setting the redhead on the ground beside Dr.Clark. in the meantime, Vincent straightened himself and started the process of unloading the gurney from the ambulance as the driver impatiently tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. Cloud quickly moved to the open doors and lifted the rear end of the gurney up, pulling it back and out of the truck. With little difficulty, it was sponytail set on the ground and it's legs extended. The doctor moved to look at his new patient as Cloud closed the doors to the ambulance, which in turn, left them in a cloud of dust.  
“Yo, what's his problem? “ Reno demanded while coughing up the fist full of dirt he had swallowed. He was promptly ignored, as per usual, as the other two were absorbed in gauging Dr.Clark's reaction to his patient. “We should bring him inside now, if you don't mind.” Clark's suggestion veiled an order underneath that the men silently agreed to follow. The two fighters moved, hauling the experiment on the wheeled bed through the church, careful of the flower bed and Aerith’s healing water. Dr.Clark trailed behind the men as Reno stumbled along beside him, covered in dust from the road. Vincent pushed open the door to the backroom, a small room with a bed for those who needed one. A minor jostling on the threshold slowed them momentarily but soon they were lowering their charge onto the dusty bed.  
As the AVALANCHE members stepped down, the doctor stepped up to the bed and started his examination. He was quiet at first, a mumble here or there, a lifting or turning of a.limb, a peek under clothing. “The torso is much too long for someone of this size and he's much too light to have this amount of muscle mass.” Vincent, arms crossed in their usual fashion, stepped forward, “What do you mean?”  
“Well, just look at him. You can tell that, at the very least, the spine is much too long.” The doctor gestured absentmindedly at the torso of his patient, drawing attention to it. At the suggestion, Cloud looked closer at the nightmare look alike. “He's right, Sephiroth was never that lanky, he was a bit more compact than that.” Cloud commented, only to add something about it being a SOLDIER thing when the others stared him down. “As that may be, this length was meant for someone a foot or more taller than what we have here. As for the weight, it seems as though something else is missing, he is much too light. Neither one of you should have a problem carrying him; however, he is a problem only because of his height, requiring both of you in order to keep him properly balanced when transporting him.”  
“Hollow bones.”  
This time the raised brows were pointed in Vincent's direction as he stalked up to the bed. “ Before I was ‘removed' from my position, I heard Hojo talking about giving the specimen -Sephiroth- hollow bones to achieve increased speed, agility, and the possibility of achieving flight. So it is logical that he may have found some way to change her bones to match his if they weren't that way in the first place.”  
Half an hour later the doctor had finished his exam, determining that dispite numerous experiments, the patient seemed fairly healthy. “Call me if anything strange happens, I’ll instruct you on what to do the best I can.” The doctor stated as he repacked his bag, hurrying towards the door. “Wait,” Cloud called, closing in on the doctor, hand raised in confusion, “you're not coming back?” Dr.Clark turned, halfway out the door, “no. Umm I know you boys just want to help but I sense that something is very wrong here. I suggest leaving that thing once it gets better.” With that final warning, the doctor left the church, taking Reno with him as an escort in exchange for some Mako-poisoning medication of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never mentioned this but this is largely done without a beta so please help me out if I make a mistake or let me know if something is confusing so I can explain it better.


	6. In the Middle of the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aw, Cloud has a crush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been awhile since I last posted, I apologize to those reading and wishing I'd hurry up. I have been working on it, on paper it is 27 pages long so it is going along fairly well. I don't know if I mentioned this before but this is largely not proof read or corrected by anyone but myself so please correct me and fact check me if I mess up. I mean I'm writing it straight out of my head so I'm bound to screw up here. Well anyway please enjoy.

Left to ponder the Doctor’s words, Cloud turned to face the bed where Vincent was tucking S19 into bed. The doctor said something very strange was going on, not just Hojo strange, there was something else as well. It seemed that everyone was repulsed and scared by this creature’s presence, Cloud had felt it, whether he realized the real reason or not was still up for grabs. He thought that it was the resemblance to Sephiroth that put him off, it not being the ex-general had upset him greatly. It wasn't that he wanted to fight him again, it was more of a longing to see those eyes once more. In the end, even that was denied by the appearance of those colorless eyes.  
While he had his own reasons for his behavior, it did not explain everyone else's, especially Vincent's. Vincent was the only one who seemed drawn to the alien, protective even. He treated it like his own offspring, which had led Cloud to believe that Vincent was looking at it like it was Sephiroth, the child he couldn't protect. Now, after seeing the reaction of others, he started to believe that what repulsed others, drew Vincent in. This worried Cloud, more than he wished it did. The last time he felt such worry for anyone, they ended up dead.  
“Vincent,”  
The aforementioned man glanced up, his expression soft and open, making the warrior flustered and grab at his right elbow to calm himself.  
“Be careful tonight, I don't want to come back to you hurt tomorrow. “  
Vincent smirked from behind his mantel, nodding and shooing the boy gently from the room. At the soft click of the door closing behind him, Vincent released a breath he didn't realize he was holding in. He flipped the lock closed on the door before pulling up a chair next to the bed. It creaked and groaned as he settled his weight on the worn wood, his bones shooting the same protest back at the old chair. Vincent got as comfortable as he could get without sacrificing mobility, Cerberus laid across his lap like a loyal dog. He placed his hand over the butt of the gun, ready to grab-and-shoot at a moment's notice, thus beginning his night long watch.  
Cloud jumped on Fenrir, the sleek bike seemingly molded around his legs, eager for a ride.The bike was his pride and joy,the long hours spent with Cid, building it from hand-drawn blueprints. When Cid first saw the plans, he compared it to one of Cerberus’ bullets. The comparison had earned the older man a good smack upside the head; but now, Cloud couldn't help agreeing with him. It was like a bullet, both in speed and appearance. Cloud started the motorcycle, enjoying the pleasant hum of the engine as it purred. Tifa had once joked that it must be more than the hum that he enjoyed for as much as he was on it. He had laughed, knowing it was just the joy of riding his bday that kept him on it so much.  
Kicking the kickstand out of the way, Cloud rode through the dark streets of sector 5, heading towards Seventh Heaven, his home. He stayed with Tifa and the kids, it was a bit awkward at first. Tifa’s feelings made him stiff and nervous around her until she finally understood that he could never want what she offered. As things settled between the two, life got easier. Cloud could loosen up and they acted like a family, like brothers and sisters, pseudo parents to Denzel and Marlene.  
The ride was short, most of it being spent inside the blond’s head. The bar was lit, the dim light coming from the saloon styled windows being just enough for the drunks to see their own feet. Parking in the garage behind the bar/house, Cloud entered through the kitchen, into the bar where Tifa was working. Only the regulars and a few tourists seeking war stories were in at this late hour, leaving the barmaid rather free. Polished beer mug in hand, Tifa greeted her friend with a smile.  
“How was the job?”  
“Job?”  
“The one Reeve asked you to do,” Tifa explained, “didn’t knock your head again, did you?” The swordsman shook his head in response, “I’m fine,just a little tired is all. We actually found something, something very important.”  
Tifa leaned across the counter in interest, “Did ya’ll now, how about you tell me what it was ya’ll found in there.”  
Cloud tsked his tongue, “Sorry, don’t want to have to explain it twice. Can you call the others? Tell them to come over tomorrow, they need to see what we found.”  
“Sure thing. Hey, the kids are with Barret, should he bring them?”  
Cloud backed away from the bar, “Yeah, he can as long as they stay here when we leave.” With an exchange of goodnight, Cloud drug his body up the stairs and went to his room. The room was one of the smaller ones in the house, enough room for him to crash and do the occasional project in. To the left of the door was a cluttered desk, whose size really made the room appear smaller than it was. Medical and Mechanical text books and papers littered the room, sticky notes making a chaotic rainbow in every book and available surface area.  
Closing the door behind him, Cloud kicked off his boots and fell face first into the bed, the swords on his back smacking against his legs, calling a groan from the tired man. Slipping his hands between the bed and his body, he released the strap-like holster, letting it slip from him into the floor along with his swords as they hit the ground with several clanks.  
If a certain General had saw him treat his swords in such a manner, he would have been subject to one of his famous lectures all over again. Normally, he followed the sword caring rules that Angeal had drilled into his skull; however, he felt it would be alright to skip doing it just this once. Today, or technically yesterday, was not his day and all he wanted to do was sleep it away. Away like the memories of the Generals, of Sephiroth, Angeal, Genesis, and Zack relaxing and playing around in the Silver General’s living room. Sleep away those nights, gentle nights that left him with a limp in the morning and a smile on his face.  
Perhaps he was tired to the point of delusion, but every heavy blink left him staring into each one of their eyes. Genesis’ baby blues, Angeal’s blue sprinkled in brown, Zack’s unusual electric blue, and Sephiroth’s Mako green. With the very last blink, the one you can’t really remember doing but know happened right before you went to sleep. On that last blink, Cloud swore he saw red eyes staring at him with the low intensity of hot coals. At the sight of that, he realized how delusional he was before he finally went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I diverged from canon just a little bit, mainly with Cloud having actually known all the Generals 'that' way. I finally got Crisis Core and started playing it so I can fact check myself with Zack, Angeal, and Genesis now.


	7. Rock N' Rubble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for all the spelling mistakes that I missed in previous chapters, many of those were due to the fact that I was typing on my phone and it decided to auto-correct some really weird things. I'm typing on my computer now so it shouldn't be as much of a problem now.

The morning came too soon for Cloud as Tifa tried to shake him gently awake, informing him that the others had arrived. Cloud rolled away, murmuring something about getting five more minutes of sleep. This seemed to be the breaking point for Tifa as Cloud soon found himself being pushed out of bed as Tifa ordered him to “Hurry up and come downstairs, don’t sleep through everyone’s visit after you asked them down here!” Tifa left the room, closing the door on her way out. Cloud picked himself up, patting the dirt from his clothing. Doing so, he realized that he still had Mako on his clothes, dried as it was. Cussing, he grabbed new clothes and dashed for the shower, angry about forgetting that he was covered in the stuff.  
The shower took about ten minutes, mainly because dired Mako was a pain to scrub off your skin. Cloud worked quickly, trying not to think as his hands passed over scars, some from battles, some from other things that were inappropriate for polite conversation. Turning off the water, Cloud stepped out of the shower, dried off and got dressed. Ruffling his hair with a towel, he threw it into the hamper with his clothes and rushed downstairs to a room full of old friends and a grumpy Tifa.  
“Sorry, I had to take a shower, I was covered on Mako.” Cloud announced as he crossed the room to sit at the bar. Cid, Barret, Yuffie, and Nanaki had shown up as Reeve already knew the situation and was too busy to attend. Vincent had never picked up his phone, apparently on as Yuffie’s voice had flooded Tifa’s ears, along with Vincent’s demands for the returning of his phone when the voicemail picked up the phone. Upon mentioning the incident with the attempt to contact Vincent, Yuffie was thrown into a giggle fit and Cloud had to reassure Tifa that it was alright that he didn’t make it. “ Reeve and Vincent already know what’s going on, and you’re about to too.”  
Cloud started his story, informing them of what was found in the Sector 5 lab. He told them of the rotting masses, of Hojo’s attempts to recreate Sephiroth; however, he stopped before he got to his main point of the story, of the one they found alive. A look of confusion passed over his face as he looked around the room in an almost frantic manner. “Cloud, did ya lose somethin’ son?” Cid’s thick, southern drawl brought the young man back to reality. Cloud looked up and then turned his attention towards Barret, “Where are the kids?”  
Barret’s face shaped into one of confusion and embarrassment, “Marlene wanted to get ya and Tif a present, she uh took Denzel to the church to get ya’ll some flowers.”  
It took only a few seconds for Cloud to jump up and run to the garage, start Fenrir and drive away. The others chased after him, Barret yelling “HEY SPIKEY, where the hell are ya goin’?!”  
Tifa ran with Yuffie, grabbing the old pick-up truck out back and driving around front so the others could jump in. Tifa put the truck in gear, “Hang on!”, before taking off after Cloud.

“Marlene, get down from there, we’re gonna get in trouble.”  
“Relax Denzel, it’ll be fine. Here kitty, kitty, kitty.” Marlene called down as she climbed further up the toppled over wall support, one that Cloud had once rode Fenrir up in pursuit of Kadaj, a dusty grey cat at the top. It was meowing, looking for a way down as the girl climbed to get it. This whole thing started when Marlene and Denzel were gathering flowers, the cat’s low whining attracting their attention. With some debate after the discovery of the cat, Marlene had put it upon herself to rescue it from its’ perch. Scrambling up as fast as her little limbs would allow, the braid-haired girl was almost to the cat when it suddenly hissed at her. She jerked back in surprise, only to hear a crack as she fell from the felled column.  
Upon hitting the ground, her head struck the ground at an angle that rendered her unconscious. Before Denzel could even make a move to help her, the column cracked and collapsed on top of Marlene. As the rubble started to fall, Denzel felt, more than he saw, a silver streak go by and curl around the girl in a protective manner before being crushed by the rocks.

Voices, small and childish, had awoken her. The experiment known as S19 sat up, the worn blanket that covered her, pooled around her lap. Still tired, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes to clear her vision. She felt very short and much heavier than before having gone to sleep. Looking around the dusty room, she spotted what she believed to be a man, hunched over and asleep in a chair next to the bed she had been laid in. Throwing her legs over the side of the bed, she attempted to stand on the rough, wooden floor. Pain spiked up S19’s legs, her bones and muscles felt ready to snap, bruises blossoming all around her joints and at the middle of her limbs.  
Managing a step, S19 found herself almost crashing into the door that led back into the church. Shaking her head, she reached for the doorknob, only to find it locked and slightly crushed in her hand. The voices spiked again before an obvious crash sounded from outside. Jerking the door off the wall was a simple feat but the pain it sent up her arms almost made her regret her choice. Behind her, the man in the chair roused, calling out in an unfamiliar way. She chose to ignore him, opting for the scene outside.  
There was two children, one a boy in loose clothes and shaggy hair, the other a girl with a long braid and a dirty sweater dress. The girl was lying under a broken wall support, her head bleeding. A strong cracking noise sounded from above the girl’s unconscious form as the column started to crack and crumble. The next few seconds were a blur as S19 moved quickly, becoming a blur to the young boy as she threw herself on top of the girl just before the first bit of stone could crush the child’s body. When those next few seconds were over, they were buried under the rubble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those large spaces are POV changes, they were originally lines but got taken away so I'll use a different method next time.


	8. The Beginnings of Madness

Hojo pranced out of his office, a twisted look of glee spread wide across his wrinkled skin. Approaching a surgical table to the back of the room, letting a few cackles escape when he spotted his specimen. Laying on the table was a woman of larger proportions than any soldier, so much so that the table she was laying on was one of his few custom orders, along with the tools he used to work on her. When he first found her, he had measured her height, it being well over seven feet; although, when he measured her again, it changed. It puzzled him even now but it was not a major issue anymore.  
Now he was focused on something else, something far more important than this alien’s height. He was focused on rebuilding his son, Sephiroth, better than he was the first time. Make him stronger so no child can defeat him, so Jenova could finish what she started. This creature, this woman was the key to bringing him back as a new vessel. At the moment, she was imperfect but he would fix that, starting with her appearance. After all, once you make the outside look good, the inside is sure to follow.  
In his hand was a medical file,one that he choose to wave in front of her stony face. “I figured out what you were hiding from me~” Hojo sang, his voice an annoying falsetto. “You, my dear, have a very unique regenerative ability, one you can control at will!” The man tapped her on the forehead with the chart, hitting a mix of smooth skin and burnt tissue. “Seeing as you have refused to heal yourself, I had to clone some of your flesh to try some of my experiments on. The results were astounding, it was able to regenerate from everything and anything I threw at it. But that was only after I prompted it to. I can burn it, slice it, put it through a digestive system! As long as I prompt it, it will heal. It took a stroke of genius that only someone of my caliber could have come up with to figure you out.”  
The scientist placed his hands on either side of the table, slamming them onto the metal in some insane attempt at getting a response. “I have come to the conclusion that in order for your regenerative ability to work, you must be able to feel every single injury, every little piece of you to be able to realize when you need to heal. The slightest needle prick must feel like someone ran you through. That needle in your arm must cause an exquisite level of pain for you.”  
Hojo pressed his fingers on the needle plunged in her arm, pushing with hardly any force, only to witness the muscles tense almost to the point of producing a small spasm. “What I find hard to understand is how someone with such an amazing healing factor can be covered in such scars.” Hojo removed his hand from her arm and rubbed it over the right side of her face, mockingly caressing over the missing right eye before pushing back her graying hair.  
“Though it doesn’t really matter now,” the scientist moved away, retrieving his surgical tools, rolling them over to the bed via the small trolley they were on. “I’ll soon fix all of it, you’ll be whole again my dear Sephiroth.” The mad man picked up a vial and syringe, “ I’m going to shut down your pain receptors for a little while,” Hojo filled the syringe with clear fluid before injecting it into a saline drip. “Just remember to heal when you wake up, or you will break,” he sat the vial and syringe down, picking up a specialized saw from the tray, setting its’ teeth on the middle of her thigh. “After all, what I will use to put you back together will be a band-aid compared to what you can do.” Hojo gripped her leg, his gnarled hands unable to completely reach either side of her flesh, making up for his reach with force enough to hold his captive still. His other hand held onto the saw and pressed it into her flesh with practiced ease.  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
Vincent stood in the doorway in shock, he wasn’t sure what just happened but he knew his charge was now buried under the crumbling remains of one of the church’s wall supports. He didn’t move, he didn’t speak. “Marlene!” Denzel’s heart wrenching cry startled the gunslinger, having not noticed the boy’s presence before. It took a few moments for things to click in his head. Marlene, sweet little Marlene was under that rubble as well. The young boy’s crying sobered Vincent to the situation, he needed to get those two out from under there, alive or not.  
Denzel, covered in white dust, ran at the pile, prompting Vincent to retrieve him before he got hurt. Catching the boy by the arm, he held the boy in place as Denzel fought to get free. The boy was fast, he had to give him that as the chase left the older male a little short on breath. “Denzel, Denzel look at me.” Denzel stopped struggling, tears streaming down his face. “I will get them out but I need you to stay out of the way so you don’t get hurt, got it?”  
The boy nodded and wiped his eyes before moving away to the other side of the church. Vincent turned towards the pile of stone, looking over it to try and spot a good place to start digging. Finding a relatively stable point to start, Vincent thrust his hands into the pile and started digging through the top of the pile. He wasn’t digging long before the roar of Fenrir reached his ears, the bike reaching the front of the decaying church in seconds.  
Cloud burst through the front doors, frantically looking between the two visible occupants before demanding information from Denzel. The pre-teen answered his father figure as clearly as he could, managing to hold his tears back long enough to get his point across. Meanwhile, Vincent was still tearing through the wreckage, searching for the two trapped underneath. Soon Cloud was by his friend’s side, throwing away what he could and helping with the lifting of the heavier chunks.  
About two minutes after Cloud’s arrival, the rest of Avalanche pulled up in the truck and ran into the church. Tifa was instantly greeted by Denzel, who clung to her for comfort. “Little man, where’s my Marlene?” Barret asked, looking for his adoptive daughter. Denzel merely pointed over at Cloud and Vincent, their frantic digging and a slowly emerging blood puddle alerting the man to what had happened. “Oh no… No, no, NO!” Barret charged towards the rubble, using his mechanical arm to grab and throw pieces away as he called for his baby girl.  
All three men started digging faster, Vincent calling upon the strength of his demons to help. The men broke the stone apart, uncovering some strands of silver hair and flesh, the wet chunks coming out from underneath one of the larger pieces of rubble. Vincent lifted and threw the stone away, his eyes turning a dangerous yellow at the exertion. Underneath was the crushed remains of an adult arm, squashed up to the elbow and slightly less damaged further on.   
The arm seemed to still be attached to the main body, the debris having inverted the elbow joint upon falling and crushed the arm after breaking the joint. Barret turned pale at the sight of the mangled limb, having to turn away before his breakfast met the ground. “Come on, we’re almost there. Just a little bit more.” Cloud sounded sad, the urgency gone from his voice as the reality of what he might find hit him.


	9. Reveal and Heal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rubble is cleared but what they find beneath is...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank A, who commented on this story and gave me more gumption to work on this story. I also want to thank everyone who had left kudos and other forms of likes/showing interest. It means a lot to me. I've been having a really rough time and it's getting worse so I don't know when the next chapter will be put up but I can say you can look forward to Aeirth in the next chapter!

The last bit of stone covering the victims was the largest and heaviest of the rubble. Cid and Tifa, whose monstrous strength was always greatly appreciated, were called in to help in moving the last part of the wall support. Carefully setting it off to the side, the group could now see what laid beneath. S19 was face down on the ground, their body hunched up protectively over a child-sized spot on the ground. Bones: snapped, broken, and covered in gore. All of the outer limbs had broken with the rocks, bones stuck out through the skin and buried in the ground, holding the experiment up in some mockery-like fashion of a kickstand. The crushed arm that first appeared was still attached to the main body by a few strings of meat whose attachment looked a little precarious in its’ holding.  
Needless to say, anything on the experiment in the path of the falling stones was destroyed. Clothing and flesh were equally torn and bloodied on top but underneath was unharmed, underneath where they could see little Marlene’s body tucked safely beneath the Sephiroth clone. “Marlene, oh baby please be alright” Barret peered at his adoptive daughter laying in the growing gore pool. The big man moved nervously from side to side, hovering over the pair as he contemplated removing the experiment to get to his little girl or if he shouldn’t even touch them.  
After repeated retreats from touching the girls’, Vincent shooed the anxious man away before carefully gathering up the experiment and removing it from on-top of the child. He took care in gathering them, tucking the loosened arm next to his body to keep it attached while avoiding grabbing as much exposed flesh as possible. Once removed from the floor, the bones left large gouge marks around Marlene, some only having just missed piercing her skin. Laying in a pool of blood was Marlene, her sweater dress no longer white and for all appearances asleep. Barret knelled beside her as Vincent backed away with the experiment’s body, gently trying to talk her back into the waking world as some of the others came forward in concern. Left alone, Vincent stood in silent worry as he held the limp body of the girl’s rescuer, their blood slowly seeping through his clothes.  
A cura was used on Marlene for the head trauma caused by the fall, she woke with no issues and no memory of what happened after the fall. She didn’t witness the bodily horror that resulted from her protection as they happened. Barret trapped his daughter in a bear hug and cried about her not scaring him like that anymore while she agreed hugged her father-figure back just as hard. “Cloud, can you…?” Vincent’s voice broke the joy of the moment as he stood there like a child with a broken toy reminding the group of another problem. Cloud jumped up from his spot next to the father-daughter duo and approached the now blood soaked Vincent.  
“Cloud, who is that?” Tifa followed her housemate with Nanaki close on her heels, the young man ignored her as his attention was elsewhere. “Shit Vincent, why didn’t you speak up sooner? Anyone got a Phoenix Down?” Cloud scolded VIncent more as Nanaki gave him the feather to attempt to bring back the experiment. Luckily it worked, S19 hadn’t been dead for long, well not truly dead as the feather would not have worked otherwise. “Is that Sephiroth?” Tifa tried to get answers once again. The question, of course set the others on high alert, as they started paying more attention to Marlene’s savior.  
“No, h-she is an experiment. Supposed to be a clone, like I was. Now can I have a curaga?” Cloud reached over his shoulder, awaiting the Materia to be placed in his hand. Cid shifted around in his pockets, searching for his mastered materia as Yuffie handed her newly acquired treasure to their leader. The blond clasped onto it and moved it around to be used on S19, expertly casting it over the wounds.  
Unfortunately, nothing happened. Cloud attempted it several more times, depleting his MP with every use. Cloud looked the materia over, it was perfect; and at it’s level, it should have worked. “Is something wrong?” Vincent’s voice gave Cloud a bit of a start, bringing him out of his observation. “It’s not working,” Cloud dropped his arm down, brushing against the dangling arm of Vincent’s charge. “I’m sorry Vinc-” The apology was stopped short as the swordsman felt something slither across his bare arm and the sudden stiffening of the gunman as the others made noises of disgust or loss. Not wanting to look but knowing he had to, Cloud glanced at his arm to see the flesh of the experiment moving from its’ arm and surrounding the Curaga materia and his hand with it.   
Jerking his arm back, Cloud separated himself from it at the loss of the materia. “Drop her Vincent!”   
For once, Vincent listened to him as he dropped the bloody bundle to the ground. It never hit it though, floating a foot above the ground as the materia possessing arm reached out as the curaga sunk into it. From there, it was a chain reaction of healing as light flowed down the arm, weaving together flesh and bone. Bones shifted back into place, lengthening and expelling foreign objects. Molded plastics, designed for facial reconstruction, popped out from under S19’s skin, which closed behind it in perfect fashion. Flowing further down, the light reattached the arm, pulled out more artificial pieces, and started some of the physical transitions to go back to female. The torn tank top wasn’t holding up well against some of the expanding features and the sweatpants proved to be just big enough for her expanding hips.   
All-in-all when the light vanished and S19 was safely on the ground, the group was left staring at a very tall female who was looking a lot less like Sephiroth in the facial department. In fact, Skin and hair color seemed to be the only thing they shared at the moment. As they all sat in shock, it was Cid who broke the silence with some of his more colorful words.  
“What the fuckin’ hell did I jus’ watch?!”


	10. Aeirth's rocky trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While the other's deal with their new burden, Aeirth finds that something has entered the lifestream and is causing a ruckus. Whatever could it be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow it has been a while and this is the longest chapter so far. I hope this will tide everyone over until the next chapter and if it doesn't, I have a original one-shot that you can enjoy in my works (Shameless self promotion). Things have gotten better here and the next chapter is underway so perhaps the next update won't be too far away. Enjoy!

A ripple spread throughout the Lifestream, a new conscience, not native to the Planet, had formed a link to the stream. Aeirth felt it, a beast, an alien had connected itself to them. The Lifestream called out to her, beckoning the flower girl to investigate the disturbance. The young woman shifted through the stream of souls, taking away worries with a kind smile. However, the closer she got to the source of worry, the more violent the calm ripples became. The disturbed green whipped around the Ancient’s spirit, dislodging her image as parts of her body disappeared and reappeared with the flow of the stream.  
Aeirth fought her way through with some effort, the stream failing to carry her off in its’ rage. Closing in on the source was no easy matter as a light pushed all its’ surroundings away with a great force. The pink woman reached out, fighting against the light, and grasped the orb in the light’s center. And suddenly it was quiet. The world had gone white. Aeirth was floating, floating in that white world that Cloud had visited not so long ago, when she gave him back to his friends, to the world. She tried to materialize her flower garden, as she had with Cloud, to gain some sense of baring in the white world of Limbo.  
The flowers did appear to her relief as she found herself standing among the white and yellow buds. The splash of color added a sense of surroundings but not much else. “Hello, is anyone here?” The brunette called, turning slowly, looking for any sign of life. “My name is Aeirth, what’s your’s?”  
The attempt at calling out the intruder was proving futile, leaving her with no choice but to start searching herself. Picking a direction, the flower girl started her journey. Walking through an endless sea of flowers and white. It could have been meters or miles that she drifted, but in the Lifestream, time and distance had no meaning anymore.  
Eventually the scenery began to change, little by little the flowers withered away to ash and the grass shrunk into a ugly, dead brown. The white around her turned into an angry scarlett, as if everything was burning. Soon voices, each filled with their own agony, cried out in a perverted chorus of pain. Blacked creatures formed from the ash and reached for her, twisted shapes just barely resembling a human form.   
“Are you hurt? Tell me, I can help you.”  
The creatures ignored her, ever reaching out and curling in on themselves from the pain as they burned. They closed in on her, pulling on her clothes and tearing at her hair. She shrieked and retaliated, dissipating some of them with a wave of her hand. But they continued to surround her, one pulling her to face it as it brandished a rusted knife.  
“Another whore to gut, to devour like the pig you are!”  
It lunged and slashed at her throat, missing only by a hair as one of the other creatures jerked her backwards. Their cries filled her ears:  
“Mother?!”  
“I can’t see! My EYES, they're gone! ”  
“It burns! It’s all burning!”  
“It hurts! Someone make it stop!”  
They covered her in darkness, burying her, choking her. Their pain became her’s and she felt her very soul start to burn with them. It was white hot, she now knew a fire had burned and consumed their world. In her pain, she was blind. Blind to the white figure who grew near to her and chased the others away. It soothed her and barked at the others.   
“Put that knife away, we do not need a repeat of White Chapel!”  
It’s voice was kind, kind like Zack as he calmed his troop after a particularly hard monster fight. His voice brought her back, taking all the world’s terrors away as she became more aware of her new surroundings. The creatures were gone from plain sight but still chose to dance in and out of the edges of her vision. The figure cloaked in white had no real features to speak of but left the impression that he had a smile to rival her own.  
“You’re alright now, they won’t hurt you anymore. Are you here to meet her?”  
“Her?”  
“The master of this prison? Our keeper?”  
He puzzled her, this was a prison? For whom and why was someone like this here? “Who is this a prison for?” She was interested now, more than before. He seemed to grimace, ashamed of something.  
“Us, the worst killers and murderers of our world’s in all of history. Those who have killed millions and fewer in ways that can never be forgiven.” He shook his head and turned from her, “But enough of this, you are to see her. I will take you to her.’  
He placed his hand upon her, it covered her whole head in it’s massive size. She felt a pull as the world turned grey as ash. “Say hello to my wife for me…” His last words almost escaped her as the howls of his world faded and in came the silence.  
~~~~~~~~  
The grey world settled and came into existence slowly. Ash rained from above and coated a blacked ground, it was almost like snow in the calmness of the scene. Aeirth stood up from where the creatures had knocked her down, brushing the ash from her clothes which in turn smeared across the pink outfit. A nude person was hunched up in front of her, their back turned towards her and mumbling. It was large, even hunched over, it’s head went over her elbow. Long raven hair spilled onto the ashy ground, laying more than a foot out from the body as it snaked across the ground. And the skin, it was a reddish copper like one of the natives of Cosmo Canyon, the color dulled by the ash that littered it. They flickered in and out of existence, proof that it was alive since those on the verge of death only appeared in such a way.  
Aeirth approached it, reaching out, her pale pink-tinted hands in stark contrast with that of the alien. They vanished before she could make contact, almost tripping the poor girl into the ash again. Straightening up, Aeirth found her back pressed up against something solid. The flower girl tensed but recognized the position, it was the same thing she did to Cloud, back-to-back.   
“Who are you?” The androgynous voice of the stranger whispered, the male and female tones melding into one.  
“I should be the one asking you that, you are the one invading my planet after all.” Aeirth shot back, the playfulness in her voice masking her more serious intentions.  
Instead of an answer, a large hand enclosed one of her petite hands, hands hardened by battle embraced those hardened by the love given away. As this hand grasped at her own, the Lifestream envoy felt a barrier being opened to her and an endless sadness poured into her. Not wanting to be crushed by it, Aeirth took charge and scoured the offered soul for the information she seeked.  
“You are like Vincent, a vessel for darkness… Like Chaos but not at the same time.” Aeirth murmured, triggering the release of her hand and the pressure was gone from her back. “Az-” turning, the flower girl found herself face-to-stomach with a giant demoness. She backed up, unable to see the woman’s face due to the large size of her chest.  
“Wow, I think those are bigger than Tifa’s.”  
The demon chuckled, drawing attention away from her breasts and back up to her face. The woman was attractive in some ways, her strong facial features and squarish jaw were beautiful but could have easily had passed for a man’s face with the right look. The right side of her face was covered in a thick veil of black hair and the lips appeared to be dressed in blood they were so red. The one eye she could see was a strange mix of blue and grey, almost like the eyes of a corpse. Curled ram's horns circled around her ears in a serpent-like style.  
Like most souls at first, she was nude, showing off hard earned muscles and naturally large parts, such as her wings and tail. The tip of the latter reminded her of a pineapple top, spikes overlapping each other and pointing in every direction. The wings, feathers round and colored a rich brown, seemed to be withering and falling off.  
“You are the new guardian? It has changed since the last time I spoke with this planet.” The tail flicked and curled around in interest.  
“The last time?”  
“When I first arrived, I crashed down here with that parasite that tried to leech off my own soul stream. After all this time, it seems my body is still not awake.”  
The demon offered the last bit as more of an afterthought, not really meant for the flower girl but more for herself. Aeirth starred, a confused expression gracing her calming features. A parasite? Crashing on the Planet? The pondering did not last long as a realization hit Aeirth like a runaway train.  
“You mean you crashed down here with Jenova?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A note on the Cosmo Canyon bit, I head cannon that they are much like Native Americans so that is why she makes the comparison.


	11. Burning

“What the fuckin’ hell did I just watch?!”  
Cid’s southern drawl rang through the church, no one even bothering to reprimand him for the colorful language as the situation held priority over the children learning some not-so-new cuss words.  
“Cloud, is this who you wanted to show us? Tell us what is going on here!” Tifa demanded, starting the rest of the Avalanche members in a fury of questions. They wanted to know what was happening, but, more importantly, if there was to be another fight with Jenova. As they pounced their leader, Vincent stood quietly off to the side; he knew Cloud could handle this on his own, there was no reason for him to join in on the frenzy. He stared at the blood that coated his clothing, dripping into minisual scarlet puddles. The gunman felt slightly intoxicated, something he hadn’t truly felt since he left that blasted coffin. Lost in his woozy state, Vincent nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt Denzel tug on one of the few clean portions of his cape.  
The boy nodded his head towards the rest of the group, who had been trying to grab his attention for sometime now. He was grateful Denzel was the one who brought him out of his head as Tifa looked ready to slap him awake, and he was not looking forward to relocating his jaw afterwards.  
“I don’t think he was listenin’ Cloud.” Cid flicked his cigarette, its ashes raining onto the rotting floorboards.  
Cloud had been explaining what he knew of the experiment to the others and was looking for back-up from Vincent when he noticed he was off in lala land. Not to be hypocritical, as he was prone to doing the same thing, it was the distinctly drunken look on that stony face that both infuriated and worried Cloud. To see the never-been-buzzed Vincent all of the sudden dazed- drunk without the assistance of any type of illegally potent alcohol was very alarming.  
“I think we need to talk, privately.” Cloud grasped the gunner’s flesh hand and drug him into the bathroom in the back seeing as it’s door was not currently in splinter’s on the ground. Leaving the nervous group of professional fighters with the source of their stress.  
Pushing the staggering man into the bathroom, Cloud locked them into the small room. “Sit.” He pointed at the closed lid of the toilet, and Vincent followed his finger, plopping down on the seat with a sharp click. Cloud took a few seconds to prepare himself, breathing in deeply a few times before turning to face his friend.  
“Vincent,” he manually moved the man’s head towards himself, forcing him to face the music. “You’re not acting like yourself, are you alright?”  
“Not acting like myself? What do you mean?” Who else would I be acting like? I’m fine, I’m fine…” Vincent started to slur his words, his tone jumping some before trailing off distractedly. He was flushed and swayed as he sat.  
“You are NOT fine! FIRST, you fell asleep NEXT to someone who could have KILLED you! THANKFULLY, she didn’t. Plus, you didn’t even NOTICE the kids when they showed up! If you HAD, this whole situation WOULDN’T have happened!” Cloud’s voice rose in agitation, hands running through his blond spikes. “If you were FINE, none of THIS would have happened because YOU wouldn’t have ALLOWED it to!”  
“I-I’m sorry, Cloud….” Vincent blinked tiredly, paler than ever and looking like he was as sick as a dog. He slumped forward until his head rested lightly onto the flat of Cloud’s abdomen, arms slack at his sides.  
“Vincent?”   
The name had barely vacated his lips when Vincent fell from the lid to the floor, Cloud just barely catching his head before it struck the ground.  
“Hey! ...Shit.”  
He laid his companion down gently, the man was breaking out into a cold sweat, his breath was hardening, skin clammy.  
“Are you sick? Can you even get sick?” The swordsman wondered aloud as he fussed over his friend. As his hand passed over Vincent’s chest, a groan of pain passed his lips, causing Cloud to immediately focus on his chest. A small stream of steam was seeping out through the buttons of Vincent’s shirt. Tearing it open unleashed the scent of burnt flesh and the sight of raw, bloodless flesh burnt down to the bone. The white bones that laid in a coliseum of flesh still seemed to be burning, melting, as if some acid had been poured there.  
“Holy shit! What the hell?!”   
Cloud completely removed the man’s shirt, discarding it along with the glove and cape into the tub. Vincent’s right arm, chest, down to the base of his prosthetic arm was burning. However, none of his clothing, or even his brass arm, was damaged, only the flesh was burned. Burning to the point where it would not bleed, veins held closed by melted flesh. Cloud was scared,he didn’t know what was eating away at Vincent’s body but it needed to be stopped.  
It was about this time when he started to feel that something was wrong with his own body. His forearm started stinging like he was too close to a fire and a sweet smell assaulted his nose. Looking down, he noticed some of the blood from Vincent’s clothes had rubbed off on his arm. It was innocent looking alone, except for the fact that the skin around it had started turning red, as if it was suffering from the worst possible sunburn imaginable. And it was getting worse.  
He realized that it must have been the blood that did it, seeping through their clothes and attacking their skin. Now Vincent wasn’t the only one covered in it, Marlene was as well, and the only thing that Cloud could think of to save them was Aerith's water, the very thing that had destroyed the Geostigma that had plagued the world.


	12. Aquaphobia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here is a new chapter! This week is finals so I'll be a bit busy, however, chapter 13 is close to a end. It will be up sooner rather than later. Everyone please comment or something, with all my school work and cosplay making, I forgot about this until I received a few emails. So if you wish to get more updates, keep my wondering mind focused by reminding me every once and a while. Anyway, please enjoy!

Cloud gathered Vincent into his arms, grimacing at the pained moans that escaped his friend's mouth. Pushing the bathroom door open, carefully maneuvering around the broken door, Cloud kept a brisk pace towards the clear water. “Barrett, get Marlene over here, she might be infected!” Cloud yelled as he worked his way into the water.  
“Shit Spike, what happened to him? What's this have to do with my Marlene?” Barrett fretted, leading his adopted daughter to their leader by hand. As soaked as she was, Marlene seemed unharmed, however, it was better safe than sorry when it came to the child's health.   
“There's something in that experiment’s blood, it's eating through Vincent and me like acid. We need to make sure Marlene is alright, she got more of it on her than us.” Cloud lowered Vincent's body into the water, struggling to hold his friend up as the water reached his wounds, irritating him before the soothing of healing set in. Frightened by the news, Barrett practically threw himself and Marlene into the pool, her gore coated dress fading to a dark pinkish color as the water worked its’ magic on the vile blood.  
Yuffie came to the water’s edge, her excited fretting drowning out any more conversation as she worried over Vincent, Cloud cradling his head to his chest, allowing him to float safely in the water. Vincent was starting to regain some form of consciousness as his wounds healed, holding onto Cloud’s arms as if he were a lifeline. Tifa attempted to calm Yuffie in her motherly way while Cid gave a hearty chuckle as Barrett worried at some red he spotted on his arm, only to realize it was the flames of his tattoo.  
Denzel was standing next to Nanaki when a sudden growl from the beast made him jump. Fur standing on end, Nanaki was slowly backing up, his back arched in a display of aggression. Following Nanaki’s gaze, Denzel found what was upsetting his friend. S19 had turned from her back onto her stomach, painfully lifting herself off the ground as if every move left her smarting. Nanaki’s growling caught the rest of Avalanches’ attention as those that could readied their weapons. Tifa put her Diamond Knuckle gloves on, moving Denzel behind her as she raised her fists, just in case.  
S19 was a bit shaky upon standing, wobbling to her full height, a literal giant next to everyone of them.She stumbled, almost drunkenly, forward, putting her arms out for balance. She looked up, eyes blank, like a child waking up to see strangers in their house. S19 looked confused, peering around the room, looking for something. That something being Marlene as when she spotted her, S19 turned into a blur, flitting between drawn weapons as she reappeared crouched on the water’s edge above Marlene.  
Barrett jumped into action, however, he hesitated to raise his guns towards the experiment as it was too close in proximity to his little girl. Although, worries were put to rest as she began chattering to Marlene in a unknown language, concern lacing her strange voice. Marlene seemed surprised, possibly a little scared at first. Though, she soon warmed up to the giant’s chatter. The members of Avalanche lowered their weapons, partially out of confusion and a little bit of relief.  
“Hey, Ninja Brat,” Cid poked at Yuffie’s side, “what language is she speakin’?”  
Yuffie huffed, crossing her arms in offense, “Just because I’m from Wutai, doesn’t mean I know every foreign language on the planet!”  
Yuffie smacked at Cid playfully as he raised his free hand in defense. The language S19 spoke was strange, it jumped from the sharpness of one language to the smoothness of another. The woman reached out towards Marlene, fingertips brushing the girl’s forehead, a silent question about her injury.  
“Oh, I’m alright. It’s all healed up now.” Marlene smiled brightly as she answered her savior’s concern.  
S19 sighed in relief, moving to stand back up when her foot slipped on some loose soil. Her foot hit the water, no one in the room had ever seen someone back up so fast. Like a cat that fell in a full bathtub, she drug herself far from the edge. The scene reminded Cloud of the lab, watching her, in Sephiroth’s form, crawl over Vincent to get away from the shower’s spray. He had not been sure at first, however, this proved that the experiment had a fear of water. Cleansing the blood from her would not be fun.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The sound of Cloud’s heartbeat set Vincent into a trance as he reclined against his friend’s chest, his body relaxed in its’ floating state. He was so calm he almost forgot where he was, still intoxicated by the long gone smell of the blood that had coated him. He felt Cloud take a deep breath before addressing the other’s, claiming that it looked as if they could trust the experiment to stay friendly for the moment, coaxing Nanaki to stop his growling. Everything was alright. Cloud was warm, warm even in the cool water that lapped at Vincent’s bare skin.  
At the realization that any of his skin was showing, Vincent’s eyes shot open and all intoxicated tiredness left him as he accidentally swallowed some of the water. Struggling to stand, Vincent went under the water, leaving a startled Cloud to lift him out of the water by his left arm. After getting on his feet Vincent stood shaking, his arms crossed over his chest, breathing hard in less than waist deep water. He was cold and embarrassed by himself, wanting nothing more than to find his clothes and leave.  
Cloud gripped Vincent’s arm, “Are you alright, Vincent?”  
The man in question nodded, looking around the decrepit church, “Where are my clothes?”  
Vincent was trembling now, it was so cold in there, he was chilled down to the bone.  
“They’re in the bathtub,” Cloud responded, quickly adding, “though I wouldn’t suggest putting them back on anytime soon, we’ll have to just throw you back in here.”  
Vincent nodded in acknowledgement, moving to the edge of the water, pulling himself onto dry land. Yuffie immediately tried to tackle her wet friend, tightly hugging his middle while exclaiming, “You’re alright, thank Leviathan!”  
She jumped up and down, jostling Vincent around like a rag doll. “Keep on doin’ that Ninja Brat an Vince there might lose his lunch on ya.” Cid laughed as he gave Cloud a hand getting out of the water.  
Yuffie released Vincent, poking at his exposed skin, “You wouldn’t do that to your favorite Ninja, right Vinnie?”  
Vincent shrugged the girl off, accepting Cid’s offered jacket, wrapping himself in the warm leather. Meanwhile, Tifa lifted Marlene from Barrett’s arms, carefully avoiding the soiled dress as Barrett clambered out of the water. The big man started grumbling about rust as he swiped at the water coating his metal arm. Watching Barrett fuss over his arm, S19 became intrigued with the odd limb. Quietly making her way over to Barrett, she nearly game said man a heart attack as she grabbed the prosthetic to examine it. Turning it this way and that, she almost twisted it too far, the metal groaning, threatening to give way under her fingertips. Barrett jerked his prosthetic from her surprisingly loose grip, “ Ask before manhandling me woman!” Barrett lectured, rubbing at the bent metal.  
“I don’t think she understands ya there Barrett. Doesn’t exactly speak our language now does she?” Cid leaned on his Venus Gospel, looking amused as he started to light a cigarette that he retrieved from behind his ear.  
“She can speak our language, it was the first thing I heard come out of her mouth. Why she’s not speaking it now, I don’t know.” Vincent corrected, watching as S19 attempted to poke at the arm again, just to have Barrett slap her hand away. Behind her, Nanaki was creeping ever so quietly, sniffing at her legs,only to shrink back and move himself next to Cloud.  
“Her scent, it’s repulsive. She smells like Vincent before Chaos comes out, only a hundred times worse.” Nanaki reported, his eye ever watching its’ newfound target. Cloud patted the beast's’ head, ruffling the red mane, “So, it’s not just me. What do you smell?”  
“Death.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The language that S19 is using will be featured a bit more in the next one, it's sort of a test run of a fictional language I am trying to develop. I'm not sure how to use accent marks and such so it may look a bit strange compared to when it is hand written, I may do some pronunciation pieces to try to make it a bit clearer.


	13. Materialization

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays everybody! Here's a new chapter for you, a little strange but everything I write is strange. I would have posted sooner but I was making two costumes over the past two weeks for a convention. We had a blast, I was dressed as Sailor Star Fighter and my sister was Sailor Jupiter. We went with our mom and a friend who was dressed as the goat mom from Undertale. Well enough about that, please enjoy the new chapter!

It was decided that the next best course of action was to return to 7th Heaven, taking S19 for safe keeping. Loading the kids into the front of the truck with Tifa as the driver, Barret, Cid, Yuffie, and Nanaki filled the truck bed with little room to spare. Fenrir, meant for two at most, would not be able to haul S19 alone, nevermind with another person. Vincent was to take the back of the bike, the Bitch seat as Cid called it. Healed or not, Vincent was too tired to make his way to the bar on foot. This left the group with a problem, there was no room to transport S19, unless everyone abandoned the back of the truck. Which was unlikely at this point, the walk would not be fun for those left unenhanced.  
Vincent approached S19, still wrapped in Cid’s jacket, his prosthetic hidden under the aviator’s coat, not wanting it to suffer the same attention she showed Barrett’s arm. She towered over him, taller than him by a head or more, picking at a flower she acquired during the ruckus. She was a mess, her back sticky with blood, the tank top she wore was hanging on by some miracle, overstretched by her chest. He hoped it would hang on until they could find her some better clothing.  
“There is no room for you in our vehicles, can I trust you to follow us?”  
S19 blinked, the emptiness he hadn’t noticed before leaving her eyes, the intellect from their first conversation returning. Dropping the flower, she nodded, “I’ll follow you, DōvUsDō.” She added her language in, clearly using it to address Vincent, what she called him, he could not say.  
Vincent climbed on behind Cloud, who shifted nervously as S19 came to stand beside Fenrir, facing the back of the truck, parallel to the seated fighters. Reaching her hands out as if grabbing an invisible bar, S19 grimaced as black tendrils crawled from under her shirt, spreading down her arms as if alive. Gathering the bulk of itself at her hands, it burst towards the ground, moving like a living shadow until it formed the shape of a motorcycle, flattened like a character from a cartoon. Then, all at once, it burst up, forming into a older model bike, looking like a classic from the 70s. They all gawked at it, never had they seen a person materialize a motorcycle before. Sure, you could summon monsters all day long, but a bike?  
S19 sat on the hulking beast of a motorcycle, made to size, she was attached to it, her hands and arms covered in the same black material that made up the bike, unwilling to release her hands. She nodded towards Vincent, ready to go. Shaking off his shock, Vincent wrapped his flesh arm around Cloud. A shout to Tifa and the group was off, traveling at a much more reasonable pace than when they came.  
For most of the ride, S19 rode beside Cloud, at ease with the machine she sat upon, as if it was a regular occurrence. There was something off about the bike itself, Cloud observed that it seemed to be missing a few parts, something a casual observer would not notice. It was missing most of it’s engine, a few more related parts gone with it, it appeared not to matter as it was powered by its’ rider.  
They were almost at the bar, slowing to stop when it happened. S19 swerved, her bike crumbling beneath her. Moving from the back wheel forward, it ran back up her arms. Unable to let go, S19 was flung forward as a pipe caught the ground. The combination of the forward movement and the inability get off, flipped her so her back hit the ground, where she skidded across the gravel to a stop. The rocks in the driveway tearing her shirt, ripping skin from her back.  
Luckily she landed in front of the bar, allowing the others to stop just short of where they intended. Tifa jumped out of the truck, kneeling next to S19 as she sat up, the black substance gone and the emptiness again taking hold of her eyes, she was clearly stunned from her fall. She was pale, sickly looking, her shirt in tatters. Tifa attempted to cover the giant woman from preying eyes.  
“Tifa, don’t-!”  
“-touch the blood, I know! Marlene, go take a quick bathe, I’m going to treat her wounds then throw her in here when you’re done!”  
Marlene nodded, climbing out of the truck and running inside. Yuffie jumped out of the truck, moving to assist Tifa as she steadied the experiment to her feet. Holding her by the arms, they lead her inside, the men following a few steps behind. Setting S19 down on a bar stool, Tifa gathered her first aid kit from behind the bar, replacing her diamond knuckles with latex. Tifa’s attempts to clean the wounds with alcohol pads was put on hold as its’ stinging touch almost cost Tifa her head as S19 reflexively lashed out at the sensation.  
Tifa tried several more times before giving up, residing herself to just picking out the gravel with a pair of tweezers. S19 twitched, allowing her to work, although it was obvious she wanted to push Tifa off. The men sat back at one of the tables, ready to assist Tifa if need be. Vincent was hunched over in his chair, he was tired. His wounds were healed but the whole ordeal left him drained. Sitting beside him was Cid, a new smoke sitting in his lips, unlit. Cid had struck up a light conversation with Barrett and Cloud, discussing the ability the experiment had exhibited. Cid was hung up on the mechanics of the motorcycle, debating the missing parts, wondering how the machine could have functioned.  
Marlene came running down the stairs, blood free, just as Tifa was finishing up. “Tub’s free!” Marlene announced, plopping down next to a dusty Denzel, who was running his fingers through Nanaki’s mane. Tifa, with the help of of Yuffie, started leading S19 to the stairs. Looking pointedly at Vincent, Tifa informed him he was next before disappearing upstairs. Within the next hour, cussing in at least four different languages, several thumps and shouts came from the upstairs bathroom. Tifa emerged, hair damp and dressed in workout clothes, sluggishly walked down the stairs.   
“That was worse than bathing a cat, she wouldn’t even get in the tub.” Tifa groaned.  
“At least we managed to wash her hair.” Yuffie chimed in, dressed in Tifa’s pj’s.  
“At least she washed herself, even if it was with a damp rag” Tifa added, sitting on the bar, placing her head in her hands.  
“Sounds like you three had fun.” Cid laughed, Yuffie flipped him off, making him laugh harder.  
“Where is S19?” Cloud asked, interrupting Cid’s laugh.  
“Well,” Yuffie began, “after we got her dressed, she found a mirror and started staring at it, it was like she had never seen one before.”  
Cloud accompanied Vincent upstairs, splitting off at the bathroom to look for S19. He found her outside of his room, bent down in front of a hallway mirror. She was pulling her hair away from her face, groping at the right side of her face in disbelief. She seemed particularly worried over her eye, almost poking it as her fingers worried at the skin around it. Cloud was glad that her absorbing the master cure materia had pushed the plastic out of her face, she may have had a more violent reaction if she had saw that.  
Taking notice of Cloud, S19 started pointing at the mirror, then herself, repeatedly. Her home language spilled from her lips, panic evident in her voice. She pulled at her hair, clawed at her skin as she gestured between herself and the reflection. Cloud slowly approached her, hands up in defense.  
“You have to tell me what’s wrong, like when you talked to Vincent. I can’t understand you otherwise.”  
S19 seemed to understand him, trying to respond back. She looked pained as she struggled to push out the right sounds, stringing them together to make the right words.  
“No-Not m-me. Vhy ch-chang me?!” S19 stumbled over her words, the omnipotent intelligence that had been there earlier still absent, leaving a childish mind behind. Cloud tried to piece the mangled sentence together.  
“We didn’t do this to you, Professor Hojo did. Now, come on downstairs, we’ll get you something good to eat.” Cloud held out his hand, “I’m not gonna hurt you as long as you don’t hurt any of us.”  
S19 hesitated for a moment before taking the offered hand, er hand swallowing his whole. Cloud gently pulled, tugging her along after him to the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The phrase S19 says means "Skymen brother," she's recognizing him as one of her own. The switches that S19 goes through will be explained later, I know it and a few other things don't make sense now but I hope it will later when we get there.


	14. Bath Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am really sorry, I've been very busy with life in general. I worked during the summer and it ruined my already bad leg, constant medication messed up my stomach, so I quit. Then school started and I've been staying there til ten every night so I've had no time to do anything. I do not plan on dropping this but I do believe it may take a long time before it is finished. Again I am very sorry, please enjoy the new chapter.

Getting S19 into the kitchen was easy, getting her to eat was another story. She poked at the food with her fingers, raising an eyebrow in confusion at the grilled meat and greens on her plate. Tifa gave her ‘that’ look, which she interpreted as ‘pick up your utensils and eat’. She struggled handling the fork properly as it was new to her, accidentally crushing it in an attempt to catch it when she almost dropped it in her lap. Giving up, S19 attempted to eat with her hands, only to spit the food back out in disgust. Tifa ended up giving her an apple as she took the plate away, everyone started complimenting her food to improve her mood, if only slightly.  
“Cloud, go see what’s taking Vincent so long. He’s been in the bath for over an hour now.”  
Cloud stood up quickly, glad to be out of the tense atmosphere. Rushing up the stairs, Cloud found himself to be in front of the bathroom door rather quickly. Cussing that would put Cid to shame flowed quietly from the occupant inside. Cloud smiled, Vincent was obviously having trouble washing again. Being one armed would not have been an issue for Vincent if he could just remove the prosthetic that Hojo had securely bolted to his arm. Not wanting to damage it, Vincent was forced to take baths with as little contact to water as possible to avoid rusting. The dip in the water earlier was enough damage for one day, Vincent was really trying to avoid anymore for one day.  
Cloud knocked on the door, twice, “ Vincent, can I come in?”  
“Yeah, ah...just a second.”  
Some splashing occurred within the room, Vincent was reaching for some sort of cover. Over the course of their friendship, Cloud had to help Vincent several times while bathing, especially in the beginning. However, he had never seen everything. Vincent was always sure that he was covered before allowing Cloud in, some sense of modesty he still clung to from years past. Cloud was curious to say the least, almost tempted to go in before he was given the all clear just to see what Vincent was hiding. He never did though, not wanting to hurt his friend nor break the bond they shared.  
“You can come in now.”  
Turning the knob, Cloud stepped in and shut the door behind himself. Vincent sat in the tub, hunched over himself as a child does when a parent comes in unexpectedly. His claw rested innocently on the edge of the tub, dry from what Cloud could tell.  
“Your hair again?”  
“Yeah, and my arm. I wouldn’t have this problem if I had a sponge on a handle or something.” Vincent added icily. He may trust Cloud to help him with such a task, although, this does not mean he enjoys relying on him in a childish manner. It shamed him to need help with a simple task like bathing, a thing that he could do so easily before.  
“I’ll keep that in mind the next time I go to the store.” Cloud laughed, settling down on the closed toilet lid. He grabbed the shampoo, squirting it into his open hand. Rubbing it onto his palms, Cloud began to work it into Vincent’s wet hair, straightening out tangles as he ran into them. Unable to lay down to rinse his hair out in fear of moving the rag that covered him, Vincent handed Cloud a cup full of bathwater. Tilting Vincent’s head back, Cloud began rinsing the shampoo from his hair.  
Watching the water flow over Vincent’s skin was hypnotic to Cloud as he continued to wash him. Droplets ran a race down Vincent’s pale skin, leading Cloud’s eyes on an unwilling journey over his friend. Down the side of his neck, over the rise and fall of his scarred chest. Cloud realized that he was sexually frustrated and the sight of Vincent was not helping in the least. He was startled out of his trance as VIncent called out to him.  
Cloud felt a tug, a small pain in his abdomen when he met the burning embers VIncent called eyes. In that moment, Cloud wanted nothing more than to kiss his friend, however, the pain of those lost held him back.  
“Sorry, I just got caught up thinking about something.” Cloud stated, grabbing the conditioner to put in Vincent’s hair next.  
“Do you… want to talk about it?”  
“No, I’m fine.”  
“...”  
The rest of the bath went quickly as Cloud avoided lingering any further on his friend’s body. Leaving so that Vincent could dress, Cloud waited out in the hall. He was conflicted, unsure about his own feelings. He had a crush of Vincent, though it left him with this feeling that he was somehow betraying them: Zack, Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth. Moving on would somehow erase them for him, make their time together meaningless. Fuck, he was confused. Should he just try and see what happens? Would a kiss hurt? Could it hurt?  
Vincent emerged from the bathroom, as silent as ever, almost giving poor Cloud a heart attack. Vincent arched a brow at his behavior, dressed in some of Cloud’s spare clothes. One of Cloud’s old zip-up sweater vests and cargo pants that had been too long for Cloud’s frame. The shirt rode up while the pants rode low, giving Cloud an excellent view of his hip line. This alone was about enough for Cloud, despite the fact he basically just saw him naked, to throw his worries out the window and just kiss him now.  
“You wouldn’t happen to have anything longer would you? These are a bit small.” Vincent mumbled. He was grateful for the clothes but the amount of skin showing was uncomfortable at best.   
Successful at reigning in his libido, Cloud managed a neutral answer, “Tifa might have an old hoodie that’ll fit, she has to order them big so her chest will fit right.”  
Vincent nodded, “That’ll work.”  
Cloud entered Tifa’s room, returning with a black hoodie with embroidered angel wings on the back. “One of the spares when Tifa made matching employee hoodies for the bar, I’m sure she won’t mind.”  
Vincent thanked him and slipped the jacket on over the vest, the bar’s name stretched across his chest.  
“Vincent, can I try something with you? Just a quick little test of something?”  
Vincent turned towards him, curious, “Yeah, I guess so.”  
Cloud stepped closer, noting the five inch difference between the two. “Can you lean down?”  
Vincent obeyed, leaning down as Cloud reached up to cup his face. Cloud never did get to go any further as a high pitched shriek sounded from below, sending them both in a rush downstairs to the living room. Yuffie was jumping up and down in excitement while exclaiming, “Red, you look like a baby!”  
Cloud and Vincent had to stop themselves from laughing. Unsure of how she had managed it, S19 had Nanaki in her lap as she sat on the floor, holding him in her arms. Being gently petted by the giant, Nanaki looked more relaxed than anyone had ever seen him, even Yuffie was not bothering him in the slightest as she started to take picture of the scene.  
“How did she get him to let her do that, he wanted to bite her earlier?” Cloud inquired, leaning back against the door frame.  
“Girl’s got some magic fingers on her, should have seen his face when she started, it was great!” Cid chuckled, seated on the couch beside said pair, a big grin on his face. The night went on smoothly, the group stayed and talked in the living room, the kids played cards in the floor. First the kids fell asleep in the floor, leaving Barrett and Tifa to carry them upstairs to their beds, Barrett tucking in his daughter before heading to bed himself. Yuffie was next as the hours went on, Tifa retiring with her to her room. S19 was dozing off against the wall with a content Nanaki curled up in her lap.  
“You boys get on up to bed, I’ll make myself comfy on this here couch. I’ll keep a watch on things down here, no way in hell I’m ever sharing a bed with Barrett again.” Cid stretched out, pulling the couch throw down and over himself.  
“Call us if you need anything.” Cloud turned away, heading upstairs with Vincent close on his trail. They stopped in front of Cloud’s room, “Back to back?”  
“...Yeah.”  
Cloud laid down first, facing the wall. He felt the bed sink down as Vincent took his place next to Cloud, their backs touching as he attempted to fit on the twin bed.  
“Goodnight, Cloud.”  
“Goodnight, Vincent.”


End file.
